Rotary one-person seesaw



Oct. 24, 1950 J. DE w. SMITH ROTARY ONE-PERSON SEESAW Filed Jan. 8, 1948 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Oct. 24,

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE 3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to childrens toys and has more especial reference to playthings of the rocking horse variety, an object thereof being to provide a mount which in part has the configuration of an animate object, as a horse, and in motion produces the effect of riding a galloping steed.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a mount of the character described that will have a rocking or bouncing movement and be rotatable about a vertical axis;

Instead of supporting the mount upon rockers whichrengage the floor or other relatively fixed surface, as previously done in rocking horse construction, further objects of the invention are to employ a standard for this purpose such as a fixed shaft extending vertically from a suitable base; to arrange the seat or saddle on the substantially horizontally disposed upper reach of a right angularly turned U-shaped spring formed preferably of steel tubing; to anchor the lower reach orv arm of such spring in a sleeve rotatable on the supporting shaft and. carrying foot rests or stirrups; and to employ handle bars, as reins, which extend laterally from a clutch member on the upper end of the shaft, the head of the simulated animal being. an integral part of the clutch member while its hind quarters extend rearwardly from the seat. By this construction and arrangement of parts it is obvious that there will be an up and down movement by action of the resilient mounting of theseat, and that manipulation of the handle bars will effect a relative turning of the head and body of the mount so that the child rider will experience a thrill like that of a real horseback ride.

And, a further object of the invention is the provision of a rocking horse or the like which will be of few parts, durable in construction and both safe and fascinating for a child to ride.

To these ends the invention consists of certain parts and combinations of parts as will be fully set forth in the following description and particularly defined in the appended claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrating the invention and forming a part of the specification are as follows- Fig. 1 is a plan view of the device.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing in plan the central portion of the base, the upright shaft being indicated in section.

Fig. 4 is a, sectional detail on line 44 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 shows the body supporting sleeve and .55 providing handle bars for the rider.

parts associated therewith as'viewed from the right in Fig. 2. I

Fig, 6 is an enlarged section on line 6+6 of Fig. 2.

'And, Fig. '7 is an elevation of the parts seen in Fig. 6.

In the drawings similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

At i there is shown a standard which, in this instance, is a fixed rod or shaft extending vertically from a base indicatedv generally at 2. The illustrated embodiment of the base shows it as comprising a plurality of regularly spaced horizontally disposed channel bars 3 each of which is secured at its inner end by suitable fastening devices, as bolts 4 (Fig. 4), to a side face of a rectangular center block or core 5 into which the shaft l is threaded. Housing each bar 31s a guard or protecting shield 6 fastenedto the bar by screws 1 and having .diverging side walls,

Bearing against center block 5 and freely rotatable on shaft l is a comparatively short sleeve 8 from which are two opposing extensions 9 comprising foot rests or stirrups for the rider. This sleeve 8 is also the anchoring means to which the resilient, revoluble body of the mount is attached' As illustrated, the body member is a length of tubing, spring steel being the preferred material. This length of tubing is doubled upon itself to form a center bend l0 and side arms H which lie in a horizontal plane, straddle shaft I and forward of the shaft, to the left with respect to Figs. 1 and 2, are given return bends l2 in vertical planes, the free ends of the tubing having a slip fit in and extending through openings therefor in bearings 13 formed on the sleeve 8 at right angles to and below the foot rests 9. Set screws It in the bearings [3 hold the ends of the tubing in place. The upper reach of the thus formed horizontally disposed U-shaped body overhangs the lower reach anchored in the rotatable supporting sleeve 8 and attached thereto adjacent the bend H] is a seat l5 having'a back rest It. Adjustment of the tubing in the bearings I3 will vary the resiliency of the body member and such an adjustment may be employed to move the seat [5 toward or from the shaft Or, if desired, the seat may be adjustably secured to its support.

At the upper end of shaft i, spaced between retaining rings I1 and I8 and rotatable, preferably on antifriction bearings, not shown, is a block I9 having opposing lateral extensions 20 To the block 3 there is attached by suitable fastening devices, as screws 2|, a configuration 22 simulating the head of a horse, the hind quarters of which, indicated at 23, being attached to the seat l5 and back rest l6.

A suitable clutching arrangement is provided which permits rotation of the head carrying block 19 in one direction but looks it to the shaft l against turning in the opposite direction. Thus the rider may swing the head 22 angularly about the shaft and then, by exerting an opposing force on the handle bars, cause the body of the mount to swing in the opposite direction to bring the body and head into alignment or to any relative angular position. This produces the effect of guiding the mount and, as previously stated, an effect of galloping is produced by the resiliency of the spring tubing and having the feet resting upon the extensions 9.

The illustrated showing of the clutch comprises a pair of pins 24 disposed at right angles to each other and slidable in openings therefor extending diametrically through shaft I, the pins being of greater length than the diameter of the shaft. Reciprocation of the pins is effected by engagement of their projecting ends with successive'circumferentially arranged cam surfaces 25 in the wall of a bore in block l9coaxial with shaft I. The cam surfaces are regularly spaced by shoulder portions 26 which, when engaged by one or the other of pins 2.4, lock the block [9 to the. shaft and against turning in one direction.

While the mount in this instance is shown as a representation of a horse, it will of course be understood that such term is to be considered as inclusive of any animate. object or an inanimate vehicle such as an airplane.

What I claim is:

1. A rotary'one-person seesaw comprising a base, a fixed shaft extending vertically from said base, a sleeve free to turnon said shaft above but in proximity to saidv base, foot rests extending laterally from opposite sides of said sleeve, a body member supported by said sleeve for rotation therewith andfor an up anddown resilient movement, said body member comprising a length of rod doubled. upon itself in a horizontal plane to provideside arms straddling said shaft with said arms bent U-shape in vertical planes to form upper and lower horizontally. extending reaches, said, sleevehaving openings below and extending angularly of said foot rests and in which the arm portions of said lower reach are received and anchored, a seat on said upper reaches adjacent said horizontal bend, ahead block revoluble on said shaft, cooperating clutching means on said shaft and said head block, and hand grips on said head block.

2. The combination, in a rotary one-person seesaw, of a fixed vertical standard, a sleeve and a head block in spaced relation to each other and each independently rotatable on said standard, opposing foot rests extending laterally from said sleeve, a resilient body member comprising a rod formed with a return bend in substantially a vertical plane to provide an upper and a lower horizontally extending reach, means whereby said lower reach is anchored to said sleeve below and angularly of said foot rests, a seat on said upper reach, said seat and said body bend being on opposite sides of said standard, cooperating clutching means on said standard and said head block permitting rotary movement of the block in one direction, and opposing handle bars extending laterally from said head block.

3. In a rotary one-person seesaw, the combination with a base, a fixed shaft extending vertically from said. base, a sleeve revoluble on said shaft above but in promixity to said base, and opposing foot rests extending laterally from said sleeve, of a rod anchored adjacent one end to said sleeve below and transversely of said foot rests at a point substantially in the axial plane of said shaft, a return bend formed in said rod and lying in a vertical plane to one side of said shaft, said bend terminating upwardly in a horizontally extending resilient arm traversing said shaft, a seat on said arm adjacent its free end and to the side of said shaft opposite said bend, a head block revoluble on said shaft above said arm, opposing handle bars extending laterally from said head block, and cooperating. clutching means on said head block and said shaft permitting rotation of the block in one direction.

JAMES DE WALT SMITH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS I Number Name Date 715,321 Unkefer et a1. Dec. 9, 1902 a 802,249 White Oct. 1'7, 1905 1,313,668. Bourdon et a1 Aug. 19, 1919 1,368,132 Gavlak Feb. 8, 1921 1,426,624. Williams Aug. 22, 1922 1,515,051 Johnson Nov. 11, 1924 1,784,692 Kline Dec. 9, 1930 1,821,462. Colella Sept. 1, 1931 1,832,755 Waddell Nov. 17, 1931 

